A roof beside the pool is one of the most popular things we build. It is also the patio most likely to cause a problem nobody planned for: a post, beam or screen that gives a child a way over the pool fence. Here is what the rules are about and how we design around them.
This is a general guide. Your certifier and a licensed pool safety inspector have the final say on your pool barrier.
What the pool fence has to do
Queensland’s pool safety standard sets out how a pool barrier must keep young children out. The parts that matter for a patio are:
- The fence is at least 1.2 m high, measured from the ground on the outside.
- Gaps in the fence, and under it, are no more than 100 mm.
- A non-climbable zone of 900 mm runs around the outside of the fence, measured from the top of the fence. Nothing a child could climb can sit in that zone.
- Gates are self-closing and self-latching, and open away from the pool.
How a patio can break the rules
- A post set close to the fence on the outside, with a bracket, a horizontal rail or a screen fixed to it that a child can step on.
- A beam that runs over or close to the top of the fence and gives a handhold.
- A privacy screen with horizontal slats next to the fence, which works like a ladder.
- A built-in seat, planter box or barbecue bench inside the 900 mm zone.
- A patio post used as a fence post, which can change the fence height or the gaps around it.
A plain, smooth vertical post on its own is not a climbing aid. It is what gets fixed to it, or put next to it, that causes the trouble.
How we plan it
- Mark the pool barrier on the plan first, with the 900 mm zone outside it.
- Keep posts, beams and horizontal parts clear of that zone where possible.
- Where a post has to be near the fence, keep it smooth and put nothing climbable on it.
- Use vertical slat screens, or keep screens away from the fence.
- Run the roof parallel to the fence rather than over it, or keep the fence line under a high roof well clear of handholds.
Inside or outside the pool area?
A patio entirely inside the pool area, between the house and the pool, is common and simpler for the barrier, as long as doors from the house into the pool area meet the rules. A patio outside the pool fence, looking over it, is where the climbable zone needs the most care. A freestanding roof can be placed exactly where the shade is needed without touching the fence at all.
Changing the fence
If the patio means moving or changing part of the pool fence, the new section has to comply, and the pool barrier may need to be checked again. Talk to us before the build so the fence work and the patio are planned together, not one after the other.
Pool safety certificates
In Queensland, a pool safety certificate is needed when you sell or lease a property with a pool. If your patio is near the fence, it pays to get the details right at the build, so it does not show up as a problem at the inspection.
Salt, chlorine and the steel
Colorbond steel and aluminium both handle a pool environment well. For salt-water pools, and for homes near the coast, rinse the posts and sheltered parts now and then, and keep the post bases clear of pool water and wet mulch.
Approval
Most pool-side roofs over 10 m² need a building approval. The certifier looks at the patio and how it sits with the pool barrier. We draw both on the plans so the question is answered at approval, not at handover.
A quick self-check
- Stand outside the pool fence and look for anything within about a metre of it that a child could stand on.
- Check for horizontal rails, brackets or slats on any post near the fence.
- Look up: is there a beam or roof edge a child could reach from the top of the fence?
- Make sure the gate still swings shut and latches with the patio in place.